Monday, August 26, 2013

Mo City August 26, 2013

Hola everyone!!!
I just wanted to send a quick letter home today. I don't have much to update on. It's still hot and humid, it rains almost every day and I rode my bike all week to save miles in the car (: It was really hard, but the good times make it all worth it!! I have also never had so many bug bites in my life! But if they scar, at least I can always look back and remember my mission (:
So we did some fun things this week. On Monday, a tree from one of our investigator's yard fell over in a storm into the middle of the street. So we took two of the men from the ward with us and used machetes and a saw to cut it down and move it. It was a lot of work, but super fun. I love service projects!! Because we were on bikes all week, we weren't able to visit or teach as many people as normal, and our area is so big that most of the people we went to visit weren't home by the time we finally got to their house. So our numbers for the week were really low, but the Lord definitely blessed us for our hard work and efforts. Most of what we did this week was just serve people and show them how much we loved them, and sometimes I think that is the best missionary work. Do as Christ would do, and love them. I read this morning in 1 Nephi 11:22 "And I answered him, saying: yea, it is the love of God, which sheddeth itself abroad in the hearts of the children of men; wherefore, it is the most desirable above all things." I know that when we increase the amount of love in ourselves, and then share that love with others, the love of God can spread. Our job as missionaries is primarily to increase the faith in others, and what Ammon did to do that in Ammon 17 was to first win the hearts of those people by loving and serving them.
We also had zone conference this week which was so great!!! President Ashton is one of the most spiritual people I have ever met. He is so good at trying to listen and follow the promptings of the spirit even when he has spent so much time planning out what he wanted to do. We learned a lot about the importance of righteous desires and how the Lord will always bless us according to our desires. I know that when we put all of our trust in him, and align our will with His, we will never be led astray. Obviously he knows what is best for us, but we are so quick to want to do things our own way. I've learned a lot about making sure I am always doing what He wants me to do rather than work things out my own way. Sometimes I ignore what end up being promptings or impressions of the Spirit, and then I have to quickly repent because the work would not move forward or be successful if missionaries just did what they thought was best for their investigators. This is the Lord's work. So, just pray to have more righteous desires and that you will do the Lord's will. I know He will answer you and you will be happier. I love y’all and hope you have a great week!!!
Hermana Moberly<3


Tres Hermana's and their Mo City Abuelitos

Monday, August 19, 2013

Missouri City, Almost 3 Months


Hola everyone!

I had a great and crazy busy week, filled with miracles once again! We have been trying really hard to work more with the members of the ward, and so we went over to Bishop's house and talked to him about how we can help strengthen the members and he wants us to just teach them the lessons first to increase their faith and by so doing, we will be able to find more people to teach, especially their friends and neighbors. So we focused on the members a lot this week, and found that without doing anything, we found 4 new people to teach and had 7 member present lessons with investigators. We taught so many more lessons than normal, and our investigators are progressing even more than before. It is still really hard to get them to keep their commitments, but they are finally understanding more and wanting to read the scriptures and go to church, not just because we keep inviting them and want them to come. They are finally acting on their faith and doing things because they want to.

Our area was opened just a few months ago so I came in and there was basically nothing to work with, but it's growing so much! We found one family that has been searching for a church for a long time and don't like the other ones they have been too because they all preach on Sunday, and then they would see them throughout the week going against everything they would say and do on Sundays. They feel like other religions can be hypocritical. And I'm not saying that ours isn't, because I know that even I have fallen short of doing what I should be every day, but with the true gospel of Jesus Christ, we know that true repentance is first recognizing our sins, asking for forgiveness, and then the biggest step is to not do it ever again. So we taught them once last week and are going over again tomorrow, but I love being led to people who are truly prepared and ready to receive the gospel. And even though I see a lot of disappointments every day, it makes it all worth it to know that there are still a lot of people who want to learn more and increase their faith and relationship with Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ.

We are also teaching a 60 year old man (who is now my adopted grandpa!). His wife is a member and she went behind his back 20 years ago and was baptized, but she is such a strong member and works in the temple every week. Bishop told us that missionaries have been trying to talk to him for years and years and years, but he would never stay or listen to anyone until we came. We go over for dinner every week and he will stay and listen to our short messages, and now is starting to take the lessons! We had to take it slowly, but now that we have shown him love and patience, he will tell us anything and actually told us last week that he knows our messages are true! He is very Catholic and goes to church every week but we told him that we would go to church with him next Sunday and he is going to come with us right after! I'm so excited and can't wait to see him really gain a testimony!

I love teaching my investigators and knowing that I was sent to Texas to help them. I think that's why it's going to be so hard to leave if I get my visa...which right now I'm hoping it doesn't come!! But these people are so amazing, and the ward is doing so great! Yesterday at church everyone came up to us and we assigned them a day to come out and help us. Everything is just progressing so much, and I've learned that everything is in the Lord's hands, that I don't do anything and as long as I am being obedient, I can be an instrument for Him to work through. So I'm doing great and love every minute I'm serving! Hermana Johnson found an awesome scripture yesterday that describes where I am right now. It's in D&C 62:6 and says "Behold, I, the Lord, have brought you together that the promise might be fulfilled, that the faithful among you should be preserved and rejoice together in the land of Missouri (I'm in Missouri City!! (: haha). I the Lord, promise the faithful and cannot lie." So just know that the faithful will always be blessed and preserved. Just keep doing the small and simple things and building your faith. Love you all and hope you have a great first week of school!!

Con amor,

Hermana Moberly<3

 

Monday, August 12, 2013

Staying 6 More Weeks in Missouri City, TX


Hola everyone!

I can't believe it's my second transfer in Texas! It goes by way to fast! But good news!! I am staying with my companions and in the same area for another 6 weeks! Our people are so ready and are so close so we are SOO excited that we get to stay here and work with them for another 6 weeks! Well, it was another busy week...we now have 4 people with baptismal dates, it's just so hard to get them baptized because most of them need to get married first and none of the men want to. But we helped one of the women act on her faith and choose a date anyways because I know that when we show Heavenly Father our desires and act in faith, that is when we see miracles and receive blessings. So we will be working with her and her husband a lot the next few weeks.

Then one night we actually got to talk to one of the elders' investigators because she was at the church building and wanted to have some girl talk (: So we just asked her some questions and she wasn't sure if she knew it was all true. We had her kneel down and pray and as soon as she was done she got up and said she wanted to get baptized on the 16th of August. So she isn't our investigator, but it was awesome to help her recognize the answers of the spirit. She actually got married on Saturday so we all went to that which was outside the church. It was really fun and we all dressed up nice and got to spend more time with the ward members. Fun fact: there is a huge forest behind the church and we always heard that wild boar lived back there and we actually saw 5 at the wedding! They are HUGE!! And really ugly haha but it was cool.

We taught a lesson last week with a new couple and they are so religious and love Christ and are so willing to listen to us. They have a little trouble understanding and believing the Restoration, but we are going to go back and teach them some more. It was so different though because I said the closing prayer and as I was saying it, they were just praising the Lord out loud and so I just kept going and I was trying not to laugh because I would say something and they would be like, "Yes Lord, thank you!!" so it was a different experience for me, haha but they are great people!

One day we went over to visit the lady who has been investigating for 20 years and she has a daughter with a disease where she just started slowly dying when she turned 14. She is now 28 and can't do anything and just lies in bed. But we went over and braided her hair and painted her nails so that was really fun. It reminded me of all the times Christ spent with the sick and afflicted, just serving and loving them and it helped me remember that I get to literally represent Jesus Christ as a missionary and can love and serve other people.

So we had a really great week! Lots of fun (: Oh! In order to save miles for the car, we rode bikes one day and little did we know that it was going to be one of the hottest days we would ever have!! It was 115 degrees and we had to ride about 5 miles to our investigators house down the highway because apparently Texas doesn't believe in sidewalks haha but we had fun! We saw some more cows on the way home so of course, I had to stop and take a picture! We were just about to leave and a cop came over with his lights on asking us what we were doing. Hermana Kennedy said, "Well we were riding our bikes, and she wanted a picture with the cows. She is from California." haha so he let us go (:

So lots of fun and memorable experiences this week! I hope you are all having a great week too and are ready to go back to school! Woohoo (: Enjoy your week and remember to be good examples to the people around you<3

 Love y’all!!

Hermana Moberly
 
PS...And she says Texas has stolen her heart! :)
 Tres Hermana's at a Wedding
More Cows :)

Monday, August 5, 2013

August 5, 2013 The Tender Mercy of the Cows ;)

Hola Hola (:

Not much to talk about this week, it was a little rough! But that's okay because sometimes we have to go through hard times so that we can come out stronger and ready for something even greater later on! Nothing too hard, I was feeling a lot better on Monday, so we went to Brazos State Park and got to see real live alligators! It was awesome! You just walk around the lakes on the dirt paths, and then boom! There's an alligator right next to the trail. It's actually really dangerous...but it was fun (: I'll send some pictures! Some of the elders we went with actually touched a tail...just being boys.

But then I woke up Tuesday morning and was SO SICK! Me and Hermana Kennedy were both sick all week and the mission nurse told us to just rest and take it easy so that we could get better faster. So we would lie in bed and sleep a lot and then we would eventually feel good enough to get up and go see some people, then go home and sleep some more. I felt really lazy and tired all the time, but I can't remember the last time I felt that sick. But I'm all better now! It was just really sad to see our numbers from the visits we had. They weren't as good as we expected. But then I was studying the scriptures this morning and I remembered that the Lord will take what we give Him and work with it. So, I'm just ready to work extra hard this week!

It's our last week of the transfer and I just sent president an email asking if I could stay with my companions for at least one more transfer (: We are so close to seeing all of our people finally commit to baptism! They know it's true, but there are a lot of little and unimportant things that get in their way. It's like that for all of us though. We have so many little things that blind us from the path we should be taking. Sometimes we forget to read our scriptures, sometimes we don't say our prayers, or don't help the neighbors take their trashcans up. Just lots of little things that if we did all the time, would help bless and uplift our spirits so much more. In Ether, I read that the brother of Jared forgot to pray four 4 years!!! Then the Lord came and chastened him for three hours! I thought how could he be so forgetful…to have just been saved from the Tower of Babel, be led out of the wilderness, and then forget to pray for four whole years! But we do this all the time! We forget to do the little and simple things, and then the Lord has to come chasten or humble us. And sometimes, He will chasten us for 3 whole hours. These are sometimes the trials that we experience-they are given to us to help us remember the Lord and to wake us up! So I know that the mission is going to be hard, it will be a constant trial. But I also know that I am going to come out of it so much stronger. Hermana Kennedy says that we come to the mission as gold. But the mission is the refiner's fire, we go through it and experience really tough things so that we can be broken down to nothing and recognize our nothingness, but then we come out completely pure gold with a lot less impurities than we had when we began. But it's not just on the mission, it's our entire lives. So don't be discouraged when you go through hard times (: Heavenly Father will never leave us alone.

Other than being sick, nothing really happened! One miracle! We were teaching a woman who had been coming to church and wants to be baptized, but has to get married first, and her husband doesn't want to. So we taught both of them the Restoration again, and then decided to sing "Joseph Smith's First Prayer". Unfortunately...I had lost my voice and it's the highest song in the hymn book, but whatever (; Then we asked her to kneel down right then and there and ask if these things were true, if Joseph Smith was a true prophet, and if she should join the church. She did it and was super nervous. She was sweating and was really uncomfortable, but after the prayer she just started crying. I told her that when I feel the spirit or receive an answer to my prayers, I cry too. So then she just knew! We asked her if there was anything else we could do for her, but she said we had already done it (: It was the best experience so far! The spirit was so strong! So everyone is still progressing, just slowly! But everything will work out in the Lord's own timing! That's all I have for this week! If you can, just pray for my investigators that they will have their eyes opened and keep wanting to learn more! Thanks so much and Love you all! hope you have a great week!!! Shout out to Mama Broberg this week! Happy Birthday<3 Love you<3

Hermana Moberly

PS-OH MY GOODNESS!!!!  I forgot to tell you that on Wednesday (I was still really sick) we told the Bishop's wife we would do service for her and clean her house. But each month we only get a certain amount of miles, and we were already over. So we couldn't use the car and had to walk to her house in 100 degree weather for about 5 or 6 miles. I was literally sweating from every pore and it was really hard, especially being so weak from being sick! But we did it and got there then cleaned her house for an hour. Luckily, we didn't have to walk back! But it was sooo hard! haha good memories though, and that's when I saw the cows for my first time! (: I was so excited because I have only ever seen them from inside a car! Tender mercy right there (; haha Love y’all and hope you have a great week<3